• Clinical Endoscopy
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• 제57권1호
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• pp.89-95
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• 2024

Background/Aims: In stereomicroscopic sample isolation processing, the cutoff value (≥4 mm) of stereomicroscopically visible white cores indicates high diagnostic sensitivity. We aimed to evaluate endoscopic ultrasound-guided tissue acquisition (EUS-TA) using a simplified stereomicroscopic on-site evaluation of upper gastrointestinal subepithelial lesions (SELs). Methods: In this multicenter prospective trial, we performed EUS-TA using a 22-gauge Franseen needle in 34 participants with SELs derived from the upper gastrointestinal muscularis propria, requiring pathological diagnosis. The presence of stereomicroscopically visible white core (SVWC) in each specimen was assessed using stereomicroscopic on-site evaluation. The primary outcome was EUS-TA's diagnostic sensitivity with stereomicroscopic on-site evaluation based on the SVWC cutoff value (≥4 mm) for malignant upper gastrointestinal SELs. Results: The total number of punctures was 68; 61 specimens (89.7%) contained stereomicroscopically visible white cores ≥4 mm in size. The final diagnoses were gastrointestinal stromal tumor, leiomyoma, and schwannoma in 76.5%, 14.7%, and 8.8% of the cases, respectively. The sensitivity of EUS-TA with stereomicroscopic on-site evaluation based on the SVWC cutoff value for malignant SELs was 100%. The per-lesion accuracy of histological diagnosis reached the highest level (100%) at the second puncture. Conclusions: Stereomicroscopic on-site evaluation showed high diagnostic sensitivity and could be a new method for diagnosing upper gastrointestinal SELs using EUS-TA.

• 대한한의학회지
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• 제39권4호
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• pp.16-29
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• 2018

Introduction: We aimed to investigate the predictive factors and optimal age for response to herbal medicine treatment for height gain in children. Methods: This retrospective chart review included 61 children (age range, 5-16 years) treated for height gain between 2011 and 2015. A predictive model was established by multiple linear regression analysis. Dependent variables were defined by the differences in percentile before and after herbal medicine treatment. The optimal cutoff value of patient age was determined by receiver operating curve analysis. Results : The age of initiation of herbal medicine therapy (p = 0.012) and administration of Forsythiae fructus (p = 0.002) were significant variables for treatment response. The adjusted R2 value was 0.231. The mean ages of the responder and non-responder groups were significantly different (p = 0.023). The optimal cutoff value of age for predicting treatment response was 9.75 years. Treatment response was better among children below 9.75 years of age. Conclusions: Patient age and administration of Forsythiae fructus were identified as determinants of response to herbal medicine treatment. Treatment of rhinitis and initiation of height gain treatment at an early age are critical for better response. These findings will provide fundamental data for further research.

• Korean Journal of Radiology
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• 제23권12호
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• pp.1260-1268
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• 2022

Objective: To propose standardized MRI-proton density fat fraction (PDFF) cutoff values for diagnosing hepatic steatosis, evaluated using contemporary PDFF measuring methods in a large population of healthy adults, using histologic fat fraction (HFF) as the reference standard. Materials and Methods: A retrospective search of electronic medical records between 2015 and 2018 identified 1063 adult donor candidates for liver transplantation who had undergone liver MRI and liver biopsy within a 7-day interval. Patients with a history of liver disease or significant alcohol consumption were excluded. Chemical shift imaging-based MRI (CS-MRI) PDFF and high-speed T2-corrected multi-echo MR spectroscopy (HISTO-MRS) PDFF data were obtained. By temporal splitting, the total population was divided into development and validation sets. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was performed to evaluate the diagnostic performance of the MRI-PDFF method. Two cutoff values with sensitivity > 90% and specificity > 90% were selected to rule-out and rule-in, respectively, hepatic steatosis with reference to HFF ≥ 5% in the development set. The diagnostic performance was assessed using the validation set. Results: Of 921 final participants (624 male; mean age ± standard deviation, 31.5 ± 9.0 years), the development and validation sets comprised 497 and 424 patients, respectively. In the development set, the areas under the ROC curve for diagnosing hepatic steatosis were 0.920 for CS-MRI-PDFF and 0.915 for HISTO-MRS-PDFF. For ruling-out hepatic steatosis, the CS-MRI-PDFF cutoff was 2.3% (sensitivity, 92.4%; specificity, 63.0%) and the HISTO-MRI-PDFF cutoff was 2.6% (sensitivity, 88.8%; specificity, 70.1%). For ruling-in hepatic steatosis, the CS-MRI-PDFF cutoff was 3.5% (sensitivity, 73.5%; specificity, 88.6%) and the HISTO-MRI-PDFF cutoff was 4.0% (sensitivity, 74.7%; specificity, 90.6%). Conclusion: In a large population of healthy adults, our study suggests diagnostic thresholds for ruling-out and ruling-in hepatic steatosis defined as HFF ≥ 5% by contemporary PDFF measurement methods.

• 대한방사선기술학회지:방사선기술과학
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• 제30권1호
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• pp.1-6
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• 2007

인위적으로 noise factor를 주고 그 위에 촬영을 하여 노이즈와 영상의 복합물을 만들었다. 그 후 Low Pass Filter(LPF)와 Median Filter(MF)의 두 종류의 필터를 통하여 노이즈를 제거하고 노이즈를 나타내는 지표로 Signal To Noise Ratio(SNR), Peak Signal to Noise Ratio(PSNR), Mean Square Error(MSE)를 비교하였다. 또한 Median Filter의 kernel size에 따라서도 노이즈제거효과를 평가하였다. 각각의 처리된 영상과 원 영상을 비교하여 원 영상에 가까운 영상을 찾아봄으로서 어떤 필터가 유용하며 어떤 주파수대를 제거해야 하는가를 알고자 실험하였다. Cutoff frequency가 다른 필터를 비교 했을 때 noise power 값에는 상관없이 cutoff frequency $2/3\pi{\sim}3/4\pi$까지가 원 영상에 가까우면서 SNR, PSNR이 좋다. 따라서 높은 filter 효과를 나타낸다고 할 수 있다. Median filter의 kernel size가 커짐에 따라서 SNR 값이 커지며 반대로 MSE의 값이 작아져 filter 효과는 좋아 짐을 알 수 있다. 의료 영상에 filter를 적용하는 것에 대해서 대부분의 영상들이 filter 적용 후에 왜곡된 상이 되곤 하였다. 의료 영상은 다른 영상과는 달리 공간 분해능을 유지하면서 평활화(노이즈 제거)하는 것이 중요한 문제이다. SNR 등 정량적 지표에 의한 비교와 함께 시각적 평가가 병행되어야 할 필요가 있다.

• 농업과학연구
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• 제30권1호
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• pp.89-101
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• 2003

For the pre-feasibility study and project evaluation, the discount rate or cutoff rate should be given by the government authority. To get the Benefit/Cost Ratio, NPV(Net Present Value) and IRR(Internal Rate of Return) of the public investment projects, the pertinent and realistic discount rate should be determined to be suitable to the present time period. The cut-off rates in Korea were equivalent to 15% in 1970's, 10% in 1980's and 8% in 1990's. The prevailing rate of discount as 8% is considered not to be suitable for the 2000's public project appraisal considering the present interest rates on deposit and national bonds. To determine the socio-economic feasibility of the public projects, the IRR should be bigger than the present cutoff rate. When we still use the high old rate of discount, the analytical results of project appraisal will show always economically unfeasible. Therefore the new rate of discount suitable for present time should be determined by the government. The public projects to be implemented in 2000 year onward are recommended to be adapted 5% of cutoff rate for the project appraisal and evaluation according to the results of reviewing the tendency of discount rates and market rates of interest in Korea.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• 제25권4호
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• pp.521-525
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• 2015

Bacteremia and sepsis are common causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide, with incorrect or delayed diagnoses being associated with increased mortality. New tests or markers that allow a more rapid and less costly detection of bacteremia and sepsis have been investigated. The aim of this study was to clarify the cutoff value of the neutrophillymphocyte ratio (NLR) according to procalcitonin (PCT) level in the decision-making processes for bacteremia and sepsis. In addition, other white blood cell subgroup parameters, which are assessed in all hospitals, for bacteremia and sepsis were explored. This retrospective study included 1,468 patients with suspected bacteremia and sepsis. Patients were grouped according to the following PCT criteria: levels <0.05 ng/ml (healthy group), 0.05-0.5 ng/ml (local infection group), 0.5-2 ng/ml (systemic infection group), 2-10 ng/ml (sepsis group), and >10 ng/ml (sepsis shock group). One important finding of this study, which will serve as a baseline to measure future progress, is the presence of many gaps in the information on pathogens that constitute a major health risk. In addition, clinical decisions are generally not coordinated, compromising the ability to assess and monitor a situation. This report represents the first study to determine the limits of the use of NLR in the diagnosis of infection or sepsis using a cutoff value of <5 when sufficient exclusion criteria are used.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• 제15권22호
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• pp.9891-9898
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• 2014

Background: This study was planned in an attempt to develop scales for the assessment of fatigue in pediatric oncology patients aged 13-18 and also for their parents. Materials and Methods: In collecting the study data, we used the Child and Parent Information Form, Visual Fatigue Scale, Scale for the Assessment of Fatigue in Pediatric Oncology Patients Aged 13-18 and the Scale for the Assessment of Fatigue in Pediatric Oncology Patients Aged 13-18 for Parents. We also used Pearson correlation analysis, Cronbach alpha coefficient, factor analysis and ROC analysis for the study data. Results: In this study, the total Cronbach alpha value of the parent form was 0.99, the total factor load was 0.72-0.94 with 95% the total variance being explained. The cutoff point of the parent form is 73 points. The total Cronbach alpha value of the child form was 0.99, the total factor load was 0.82-0.95, with 89.4% of the total variance being explained. The cutoff point of the child form was 75.5 points. Conclusions: This study suggests that the Scale for the Assessment of Fatigue in Pediatric Oncology Patients Aged 13-18 and the Scale for the Assessment of Fatigue in Pediatric Oncology Patients Aged 13-18 for Parents are valid and reliable instruments in assessing the fatigue symptoms of children in Turkey.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• 제15권23호
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• pp.10199-10207
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• 2015

Background: This study was planned in an attempt to develop scales for the assessment of fatigue in pediatric oncology patients aged 7-12 as well as for their parents. Materials and Methods: In collecting the study data, we used the Child and Parent Information Form, Visual Fatigue Scale, Scale for the Assessment of Fatigue in Pediatric Oncology Patients Aged 7-12 and the Scale for the Assessment of Fatigue in Pediatric Oncology Patients Aged 7-12 for Parents. We also used Pearson correlation analysis, the Cronbach Alpha coefficient, Factor Analysis and ROC Analysis for the study data. Results: In this study, the total Cronbach alpha value of the parent form was 0.95, the total factor load was 0.52-0.95 and the total variance being explained was 85.7%. The cutoff point of the parent form was 82 points. The total Cronbach alpha value of the child form was 0.98, the total factor load was 0.71-0.94 and the total variance being explained was 84.7%. The cutoff point of the child form was 75 points. Conclusions: This study suggests that our scales for the assessment of fatigue in pediatric oncology patients aged 7-12 and their parents are valid and reliable instruments.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• 제16권2호
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• pp.523-529
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• 2015

Background: This study was planned in an attempt to develop a scale for the quality of life in pediatric oncology patients aged 7-12, with child and parents forms. Materials and Methods: In collecting the study data, we used the Child and Parent Information Form, Visual Quality of Life Scale, Scale for Quality of Life Pediatric Oncology Patients Aged 7-12 and the Scale for the Quality of Life in Pediatric Oncology Patients Aged 7-12 for Parents. We also used Pearson correlation analysis, the Cronbach alpha coefficient, factor analysis and ROC analysis for the study data. Results: In this study, the total Cronbach alpha value of the parent form was 0.96, the total factor load being 0.54-0.90 and the total variance explained was 82.5%. The cutoff point of the parent form was 93 points. The total Cronbach alpha value for the child form was 0.96, with a total factor load of 0.55-0.91 and the total variance being explained was 78.3%. The cutoff point of the child form was 65 points. Conclusions: This study suggests that the Scale for Quality of Life in Pediatric Oncology Patients Aged 7-12 Child and Parents Forms are valid and reliable instruments in assessing the quality of life of children.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• 제87권1호
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• pp.91-99
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• 2024

Background: Tuberculous pleural effusion (TPE) and parapneumonic effusion (PPE) are often difficult to differentiate owing to the overlapping clinical features. Observational studies demonstrate that the ratio of lactate dehydrogenase to adenosine deaminase (LDH/ADA) is lower in TPE compared to PPE, but integrated analysis is warranted. Methods: We conducted a systematic review to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of the LDH/ADA ratio in differentiating TPE and PPE. We explored the PubMed and Scopus databases for studies evaluating the LDH/ADA ratio in differentiating TPE and PPE. Results: From a yield of 110 studies, five were included for systematic review. The cutoff value for the LDH/ADA ratio in TPE ranged from <14.2 to <25. The studies demonstrated high heterogeneity, precluding meta-analysis. Quality Assessment of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies Tool 2 assessment revealed a high risk of bias in terms of patient selection and index test. Conclusion: LDH/ADA ratio is a potentially useful parameter to differentiate between TPE and PPE. Based on the limited data, we recommend an LDH/ADA ratio cutoff value of <15 in differentiating TPE and PPE. However, more rigorous studies are needed to further validate this recommendation.